Dolly-support for washing-machines.



s. T. WHITE.

DOLLY SUPPORT FOR WASHING MACHINES. APPUCATION FILED FEB. 10. 19:5.

1,160,555; Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

SAMUEL 1:. wants, or DAVENPORT, Iowa.

DOLLY-SUPPORT FOR WASHING;MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

Application filed February 10, 1915 Serial No. 7,304.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'known that I, SAMUEL-T. WHITE, a

citizen of the United States, residing at rip clothes during the washing operation is Davenport, in the county of Scott and State of Iowa, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dolly-Supports for l/Vashmg- Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in washing machines, and more particularly to the dolly supporting devices for the type of machine designed for .and used in ordinary households.

The objects of my invention are to provide means by which the dolly sleeve may be easily removed for cleansing purposes to so construct the sleeve that it Wlll extend to the bottom of the machine tub,and to so shape, arrange and support the lower end of said sleeve that any tendency to tear or avoided. These objects I accomplish by the means hereinafter fully described, and as particularly pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings formlng a part hereof, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical central section of my improved washingmachine, the lower portionof the supporting legs beingbroken away. Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary central vertical section through the lower portion of the dolly sleeveand the shaft casing, and exposes the rotary reciprocable shaft. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse hori- 'zontal section on line 33, Fig. 2, looking u-pward. Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary central section through they top portion of the sleeve and the shaft casing, showing a top fragment of the rotary reciprocable shaft. Fig. 5 is a top plan of the sleeve, the rotary reclprocable shaft and the casing for said shaft. i

Referring to the drawings, A represents the tub of a washing machine of well-known construction, which is provided with a top cover B suitably connected thereto by hinges, and is mounted upon and supported by legs a so that its bottom 2; is a suitable distance above the ground.

A hanger or bracket depends from the bottom a of the tub and slidably supports a rack 2,which is reciprocated in any suitable manner and meshes with a pinion 3 mounted on a vertical rotary reciprocable shaft a The hanger has an enlarged top attachmentplate 5 which is securedto and strengthens the bottom b of the tub, and this attachment plate 5 is provided at'its center with a depending bo'ss 6. The lower portion of the hanger or bracket is provided with a lateral extension 7 that has suitable bearings for the lower end of a vertically disposed rotary reciprocable shaft 4:.

i A vertical tubular casing 8 forms a housing in which the rotary reciprocable shaft 4 is loosely inclosed, and the lower end thereof is, preferably, exteriorly screwthreaded, as shown at 9 in F ig.- 2, and extends through the bottom of thetub and into and through boss 6 of the hanger attachment-plate. The upper end of shaft 4 projects above the upper end of easing 8 and is, preferably, separated at this point fromsaid casing by an lnterposed annular bushing 10 that centers and also journals the shaft in the casing. 1

To. the upper projecting end of shaft 4 I prefer to fasten a top-block, which, in the adaptation of my invention shown in Figs;

4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings, has a substantially square head 12, and a lower circular flange 13 which fits and rests upon the top edge of the casing. This top-block has a suitable recess 14 in which the shaft end is, preferably, permanently and rigidly fastened by a rivet 15. I mount a dolly sleeve 16 upon and support it from the upper end of shaft 4 in such manner that it can be easily and quickly detached from or attached to-the same in order to permit its convenient removal and replacement for cleaning or repairing. and, preferably, by providing the top 17 of the dolly sleeve 16 with an aperture of substantially square outline in which the head 12 of the top-block fits and is removably fastened by inserting a cotter pin 18 in an opening in the head above the upper edge of the dolly sleeve, as shown in Fig. 4.

The dolly sleeve 16 is constructed sufficiently long to extend, when properly attached to and suspended from the top of shaft 1, to or nearly to the bottom of the tub. The lower extremity of this sleeve is, preferably, provided with a peripheral en largement or flange 19, and its bore is slightly reduced to provide a fairly close fit a m s s that rests upon the bottom of the tub, and

-a concentric cup-like-. concavity 24 of'considerably larger size than its-central opening 22, the circular side-wall 23 of which curves outwardly and upwardly and forms" with the circular side wall 23 thereof, andv drains the soiled and'dirty water that may pass into the cup from openings 26, that ex tend from the juncture of the side and bottom walls (the lowest part of the cup) and extenddownward and outward, as shown in Fig. 2.

For lightness of construction the underside of block 21 is cored out to produce opposed segmental recesses 27 which are separated by solid radial walls 28 of metal in which drain openings 26 are located, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, If desired, the concavityof block 21 may be partially fitted with Babbitt or other suitable antifrictionmetal, and thus form a practical dolly is mounted on said sleeve, its ribs or tenon's will enter, thereby permittin longitudinal sliding movement of ,the dol y upon the dolly sleeve, while preventing independ: ent rotation of the same. The dolly has the usual pegs 31 projecting downward there from, and in-iorder-to maintain it in a proper elevated position within the tub, I prefer to terminate the ribs or tenons of the sleeve at a suitable distance above the bottom of the tub and provide a peripheral flange 32 at min the vicinity of such terminal points upon whichthe body of the dolly or agitator rests.

The operation of my inventionv is substantially as follows; to-wit: The rack 2 being reciprocated its movement is imparted to pinion 3, which in turn gives a rotary reciprocable motion to, the vertical shaft 4. This shaft 4, through the medium of the top-block imparts its rotary reciprocable motion to the dolly-sleeve 16.and correspondingly rotates the dolly or agitator, thereby stirring the clothes immersed in the washing water in the tub. As the dolly revolves in unison withthe dolly-sleeve and said sleeve extends continuously down from above-the upper end of the casing to or near the bottom of the tub, and as the lower end of said dolly-sleeve extends within and is journaled in a top cup-like opening in the cone-shaped block on the bottom of the tub and the top of'said block projects above the lower end of the sleeve, it is practically impossible to tip or tear the clothes during the washing operation, The clothes, during the washing operation, creep up the outer coneshaped sides of the block, and over the very slight space between the circumference of the flanged ,lower end of the sleeve and the edge of the concavity of said block and move with the sleeve. As the clothes in the tub can only tear when one part thereof is held stationary while another part is moved, and as, in my improved construction, this is impossible, my improvements avoid the tearing ofthe clothes around the lower end of the tubular post of easing, which heretofore very frequently ,happene What I claim as new is 2- 1. In a machine of the class described, a tub, a vertical tubular casing mounted in stationary position withinthe tub and having its lower end extending through the bottom of the tub, a vertical rotary shaft extending through the casing, a cone-shaped block secured to the tub bottom and surrounding thewcasing, said block having a top cup-like concavity, the circular surrounding Wall of which curves upwardly and outwardly at a slight angle to the perpendicular, a dolly-sleeve mounted on the upper end of therotary shaft and surrounding and concentric with the casing and havingits lower extremity provided with a peripheral flange which fits and seats within the concavity of the block.

2. In a machineiof theiclass described, a

tub, a vertical tubularcasing mounted in stationary position within the tub and having its lower .end extending through the bottom thereof, a vertical rotary shaft journaled in suitable bearings beneath said tub and extending through the casing, a coneshaped block secured to the bottom of thetub and surrounding the casing and having a cup-like concavity in its upper portion, a dolly sleeve'mounted on the upper projecting end of the rotary shaft and depending therefrom around and concentric to said casing and having its lower extremity seated in the cup-like portion of the cone-shaped block,

3. In a machine of the class described, a tub, a vertical tubular casing mounted in stationary position within the tub and having its lower end extending through the bottom thereof, a vertical rotary shaft journaled in suitable bearings beneath said tub and extending through the casing, a coneshaped block-secured to the bottom of the tub and surrounding the casing and having a cup-like concavity in its upper portion provided with an annular nearly vertical side Wall, a dolly sleeve mounted on the upper projecting end of the rotary shaft and depending therefrom around and concentric to said casing and having its lower extremity seated in said cup-like concavity of the cone-shaped block with the peripheral margin of said extremity in contact with the outer side-wall of the cup-like concavity of the block. v a

4. In a machine of the class described, a tub, a vertical tubular casing mounted in stationary position within the tub and having its lower end extending through the bottom thereof, a vertical rotary shaft journaled in suitable bearings beneath said tub and extending through the casing of a coneshaped block secured to the bottom of the tub and surrounding the casing and having a cup-like concavity in its upper portion the outer side-wall of which is circular and nearl" vertical and the bottom of which extends inwardly and upwardly, and said block being provided with drain openings extending outwardly from the juncture of said side and bottom ofits concavity, a dolly sleeve mounted on the upper projecting end of the rotary shaft and depending therefrom around and concentric to said casing and having its lower extremity seated in the cup-like concavity of said block.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a tub, a vertical casing in said tub, a rotary shaft housed in and extending through said casing. a cone-shaped block fitted around the lower portion of said casing and upon the bottom of the tub and having a cup-like concavity in its top portion, and an agitator or dolly having a comparatively long sleeve having its upper end removably mounted upon the upper end of the shaft and its lower end seated in the cup-like top portion of said block; said sleeve being concentric with and surrounding the casing throughout.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a tub, a-vertical casing in said tub, a rotary shaft housed in and extending through said casing, a cone-shaped block fitted around the lower portion of said casing and upon the bottom of the tub and having a cup-like concavity in itstop portion, and an agitator or dolly having a comparatively long sleeve having its upper end removably mounted on the shaft and having a peripherally flanged lower end seated in the cup-like concavity of its top portion,

said sleeve being concentric with and sur-.

rounding the casing throughout.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 30th day of January, 1915.

SAMUEL T. WHITE.

Witnesses:

OLGA R. MECKELNBURG, ISABELLE A. MORGAN. 

